New Evidence Concludes that Trayvon Shooting was Avoidable

Get ready for a bunch of information in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case, as prosecutors released a boatload of related documents.

Trayvon Martin’s fatal encounter with George Zimmerman was “avoidable,” and the teen was not doing anything criminal at the time of their confrontation on Feb. 26, in a NEW report by Sanford, Fla., police says.

The report, dated March 13, came nearly a month before a special prosecutor brought 2nd-degree-murder charges against Zimmerman, 28, in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon.

He has pleaded not guilty and said he acted in self-defense.

“The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely, if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party’s concern,” the report said. “There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter.”

A large cache of reports, documents, photos and other descriptions of evidence in the case were released to the public Thursday evening after being disclosed previously to defense attorneys.

The report said a single bullet that went into Trayvon’s heart.

Other police investigative reports said that Trayvon had been staying in the gated residential complex for a week before the shooting and that he had been sent to the home of a friend by his father after the teen had been suspended from school for 10 days for marijuana possession. A toxicology report on his body found small amount of THC in his blood.

A police report concluded that at the time he was confronted by Zimmerman, Trayvon “was in fact generally running in the direction of where he was staying as a guest in the neighborhood.”

Zimmerman had reported “suspicious persons, all young black males” to police on three previous occasions in 2011, the reports said.

“According to record checks, all of Zimmerman’s suspicious person calls while residing in the Retreat neighborhood have identified Black males as the subjects,” the report said.

According to a report by Christopher Serino of the Sanford Police Department, a witness said she heard “a commotion, which sounded to her like arguing.” She looked out from her bedroom window and saw two men on the ground.

“She then heard someone yell ‘help, help,’ ” the report said. “She then heard a ‘pop’ noise and then saw the decedent laying on the ground, motionless, and the other male, who she described as ‘larger’ and ‘Hispanic looking,’ standing over the decedent.”

SCOOP: ORLANDO SENTINEL

KEY FINDINGS::

Pro-Zimmerman: His lawyers surely hope lots of attention will be paid to the fact that Trayvon apparently smoked pot at some point before the altercation. (It’s not clear when or how much.) The autopsy found traces of the drug THC in his system, the active ingredient in marijuana, reports CNN. Also, ABC News notes that two witness accounts given to police “appear to back up Zimmerman’s version” of events.

Pro-Trayvon: Prosecutors will no doubt point to the police conclusion that the shooting was “ultimately avoidable,” had Zimmerman “remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement.” The Orlando Sentinel leads its story with it.
Zimmerman photo: The documents include a grainy copy of a photo police took of Zimmerman after the shooting in which he appears to have a bloody nose, notes AP. See the photo here.

Trayvon’s belongings: He had $40.15 on him, along with a packet of Skittles, a red lighter, headphones, and a photo pin in his pocket.